After months of service disruption and spiralling rates since vessels were routed away from the Red Sea region, there has finally been some improving signs on Asia/Europe ocean freight services this month.

Availability of space on vessels has been very low all year, but on some services we have seen some improvements in recent times, with it becoming a little less difficult to arrange bookings. Therefore, freight rates seem to have peaked and in some cases spot rates have reduced.

The situation with port congestion at several Asian ports is still ongoing, with schedules remaining unreliable. Equipment shortages are still evident at some origin points even with a massive surge in new containers arriving this year, which has led manufacturers to be sold out for new equipment until October.

Since the pandemic, the Asia market has become more volatile, and we are not suggesting that we are anywhere near being out of the woods.

However, if the recent trend continues through to the end of the traditional peak season period, which usually subsides after China’s Golden Week at the beginning of October, then perhaps we can approach 2025 with a little bit more optimism.